Hot And Cold
by Shanaqui
Summary: Rikku decided to take Gippal's lovelife into her own hands. GippalxBaralai.


Rikku dropped her spanner in exasperation. Three steps took her to the entrance of what most people called Gippal's den -- or if they were sucking up, they said _boss_ instead of Gippal. Mostly, she called it Gippal's unholy mess, and she was sticking to her story. She put her hands on her hips. "You've been sighing like a wounded shoopuf _all morning_. Either tell me what's up or give it a rest already."

One of the piles of paper wobbled. Gippal stuck his head out from behind it. "Shit, Riks, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Quit calling me that!" she said, but out of habit. She breezed into the room, and, ignoring his squawks, cleaned a space on the desk by tossing a pile of paper to the floor. She promptly parked herself in the space before the piles could breed and cover the desk again. "So, are you going to tell me about whatever has you sighing so often? Or do I hafta torture it out of you?"

"I thought the options were telling you or 'giving it a rest already'?"

"Do you really want me to call Brother in to talk to you? I will, you know."

Gippal winced. "Please, don't. Anything but that."

"I don't get why you two don't get along," Rikku said. She gave him a sly smile. "Both so popular with the ladies, so charming and handsome..."

"Please," he said, looking honestly pained. "Do not put me in the same category as your brother. The social embarrassment is bad enough that I know him at all."

"Hey, watch it, he is my brother, you know." Rikku stuck her tongue out at him, and noticed that he wisely decided to keep his mouth shut on any comments about it running in the family. "So, what is it? I kinda deserve to know after I had to listen to you being all mopey all morning."

"It's just all the paperwork, okay? I'll shut up so you can get on with stuff, if you go away."

"Nuh uh, you're not getting away with that." She leaned over, poking him in the nose and giving him a serious look. "Besides, you looked down and to the left when you said it was paperwork. Liar, liar, pants on fire. And that's a lousy reason to sigh anyway."

"Rikku," he said, in what she thought he meant to be a warning tone. She blithely ignored it.

"I tell you what. I guess, and you tell me if I'm hot or cold? How does that sound?"

"Splendid," he said, as sarcastically as he could manage. She accidentally on purpose kicked him in the shin and smiled angelically when he cursed at her in Al Bhed.

"Naughty, naughty. If you swear like that again I'll have to wash your mouth out with soap." She swung her legs again, tilting her head to one side as she thought. Gippal eyed her for a moment and then grabbed some more papers from his piles, apparently at random, and started scribbling on them in his neat, though rather spiky handwriting. "Let's see... girl troubles?"

He snorted. "Cold like Shiva's ass."

"Quit being coarse," she said, kicking him again, but only gently because he was being a good boy and getting some of his work done. "Though I suppose girl troubles is a dumb place to start, they have more trouble with you than you do with them. Hmm. You're not hiding a crazy machina in the basement or anything?"

"That's more Baralai's style," Gippal said, and then something odd passed over his face, like he'd swallowed a lemon. Rikku narrowed her eyes.

"Have you argued with 'Lai again?"

"I had no quarrel with him in the first place!"

"Well, it's _something_ to do with Mr. Fancy Pants Praetor, isn't it?"

"Cold. Frigid like High Summoner Yuna."

"Yunie's not frigid!" Rikku said, and then looked at him closer. "Gippal, you're blushing."

"I'm _not_."

"Yes, you are. You're blushing! It's something to do with Baralai, isn't it? Huh? What, you want to get into his fancy pants?"

"I never noticed his pants being particularly fancy," Gippal said, looking fiercely down at the pile of papers he was working through. He dug the pen into the top sheet as he scribbled his signature, almost ripping it. Rikku grinned, leaning closer, though making no effort to lower her voice. She suspected there were some people avidly listening to the conversation. She wouldn't want to spoil their fun, right?

"No, you were too busy wondering whether he's tanned all over or whether he's all white underneath those robes."

"Rikku!"

He sounded like something close to scandalised, she thought. It was almost cute. "Don't worry. I won't say anything to him until I've figured out the perfect plan." She clapped her hands together, pretending not to notice the sheer panic on his face. "I'll have you together in no time."

"Rikku -- "

"Nuh uh, you can't tell me you don't want help now you've spilled your guts!" She reached over and tousled his hair, and then leapt off the desk and ran out of the room before he could grab her. She barreled into a confused looking kid on her way out, and swiftly pushed him in the way of the oncoming typhoon.

It was good to see Gippal out of his office, she thought, if nothing else. She dodged behind a precarious pile of machina parts, grinning to herself. She hoped no one pacified him _too_ soon. He was cuter when he was panicking, and besides, anything was better than the big blond lump stewing in _self pity_.

----

Every time he saw Rikku, she seemed to be wearing less. It was one thing to adapt to the climate, Isaaru thought, and quite another to bare quite so much flesh. She seemed entirely unselfconscious, though, and that somehow made it easier to ignore the length of bare leg and flat tanned stomach. "Rikku," he said, bowing slightly. "What a pleasant surprise. May I ask what you're doing in Bevelle?"

"Oh, this and that." She waved a hand around. "How y'been, Isaaru?"

"Working with Praetor Baralai is an... interesting experience," he said, though he found himself relaxing a little. Rikku's informality had that affect on most people, he thought. "And a busy one, too."

"Are you hinting at me?" she asked, laughter bright and natural in her voice. "It's okay, I won't take up much of your time. I actually want to see the big boss man."

"The Praetor? He's not so much the boss as -- "

"He's got underlings, he's the boss in my eyes. Not that the same applies to Gippal -- he's just a useless lump." She grinned again, running her fingers through her hair and stretching. Isaaru averted his eyes, sure that he was being impolite and staring too much. "But, whatever. Can you arrange a meeting with 'Lai for me?"

"I'm sure he'd be pleased to see you," he said, smiling slightly. "Can I ask what you want to see him about?"

"Something very important," she said, solemnly, and then broke into a smile yet again. "His love life. I've got a love confession to deliver."

Isaaru raised an eyebrow.

"Not from me," she hastened to reassure him. "Gippal fancies the pants off him, and I'm pretty sure Baralai's never even given a girl a second look, so I figure it's worth a try, right? So I'm trying to get them together. Heey, you could help me!"

"I don't really think that would be appropriate," Isaaru said, carefully. "Besides, I'm sure it's just that Baralai doesn't have time for romance, not that he's... you know."

Rikku made a face. "Don't be silly. Just watch him for a bit. You'll see what I mean, honest. Anyway, can I see him?"

"That's up to him to decide," Isaaru said. He surprised himself with the look he gave her as he turned to go into the temple. "I won't tell him exactly what you're here for."

He was shocked to the core when she suddenly flung herself at him, giving him a hug. He stood stiff as a poker until she disengaged, grinning all over her face. "Thanks, Isaaru!"

"You're welcome," he said, and then fled as quickly as possible, catching hold of the first ex-priest he found -- some of them still worked in the temple, as they'd known little else -- and asking him to show her to somewhere where she could wait, and get her something to drink. Then he hurried on inside, into the cool of the temple, to find Baralai. He still wasn't sure exactly why he'd agreed to help, even just a little.

----

Baralai found himself smiling when Rikku made her entrance. There was something about her exuberance in just being _alive_ that was like a breath of fresh air. She grinned at him without any formality at all, dropping into a chair, to the shock of the former priest Isaaru had asked to show her the way. Baralai nodded to him and he bowed and left the room, mouth in a tight flat line, closing the door firmly behind him.

"So, Rikku," he said, once the door was closed. "Isaaru told me you wanted to speak to me, but..."

"Your office is way tidier than Gippal's," she said, apparently without catching the hint. "And it's not as old fashioned as I thought it'd be."

"I'm not old fashioned," Baralai said, with the slightest shrug. "And I have to admit that I've come to like a lot of the things the Machine Faction have been working on. They're... convenient. I can only hope they won't encourage people to be too lazy."

She snorted softly, making a little face. "Oh, don't worry about that. Machina make work. They're always malfunctioning or breaking down. There's always _something_ to do, no matter what people think."

"I don't know if I should be glad to hear that or not," he said, with a small smile. He forbid himself to glance at his work, or at the door, or at the clock: he had things to do, but they could wait. But impatience edged his voice all the same. "Is there something Gippal wanted you to pass onto me, or something?"

"Oh, no, Gippal really wouldn't want me to be here," she said, cheerfully. "At least, not considering my little mission."

"Your... mission?"

"Yup, my mission." She stretched out a little, grinning at him again. "I guess I'd better get on with it and not keep you in suspense. I bet you're dying to get rid of me."

"Of course not, though..."

"Though you have lots and lots of work to do," Rikku said, nodding. "Gippal's just the same. He hasn't got time for anything but moping and working. That's partly what I've come about, really, anyway -- the moping part, not the work. I can see you've got enough of your own to do."

"Gippal's... moping?" Baralai raised an eyebrow. "I don't see how I can help with that..."

"Well, uh, it's because of you, actually."

"Me? I don't see why..." He frowned slightly. "I'm his friend, and though we haven't kept in contact very well, I'd like to see him again sometime soon."

"He likes you as _more_ than a friend," she said, grinning. "That's why he's moping."

"He likes -- oh."

"I wouldn't've thought someone with skin like yours _could_ blush so much," Rikku observed, with interest. There was something relentless about her, he thought, feeling rather like a small trapped prey animal. "There's no need to blush like that, though. Sure, he's a guy, you're a guy, but... Unless you'd blush like that about knowing _anyone_ is attracted to you, even a girl. I wouldn't have thought it of you."

"Please," he said, raising a hand. "I'm not sure why you're here and telling me that, and I'm sure Gippal would be mortified to -- "

She grinned again, cutting him off. "Oh, he was, when I told him I'd do it. Didn't stop me, though."

"Couldn't, rather than didn't want to, I'd say," Baralai muttered. He pressed his fingers to his temples, sure he could feel an oncoming headache. "Really, I don't think this is any of your business, and I -- "

"Do you like him back?" Rikku's voice and eyes softened a little, and she leaned forward to look at him earnestly. "That's what I really need to find out. Even if you don't, maybe if I can tell him that he'll stop pining after you in the end."

Baralai closed his eyes tightly, and wished he could think of something to pray to. "Pining doesn't sound very like Gippal."

"Well then you don't know Gippal," she said, making a face. "C'mon, though. Tell me."

"Look, I have a lot of work to do, and -- "

"And, I get it," she said, standing up. "You're not interested. You could have the guts to just say so, y'know. I'll break the news to him gently, I promise."

"No, I -- "

"You've got work to do," she said, cutting him off _again_. There was something _hurt_ about the way she stood, the way her eyes were, the twist of her mouth. He didn't get it: from all he'd heard, Gippal had always been after _Rikku_ -- not that he'd paid much attention to the talk about it, but one heard things, and he'd heard they'd been virtually an item since they were kids. He rubbed lightly at his temples again.

"I have, but..."

"Bye, then," she said, firmly, and she actually walked right out of the room before he could catch up with what was going on. The door closed firmly behind her.

Baralai sighed, feeling the sharp edges of the headache again, and carefully put his head down between the papers to rest against the cool smooth wood of his desk. He was sure something bad was going to come of this -- Gippal would be mortified at the scene Rikku'd caused, maybe embarrassed that she'd claimed he... harboured affections for him. Maybe it'd be just one more awkward thing forming a wedge between them. Nothing would ever be as simple as the days they'd slept back to back for warmth, it seemed.

He closed his eyes. There _was_ work to do, so much of it, but... Isaaru would come in a while, and bring him something to drink, and perhaps he could be persuaded to take up forgery to help him deal with the great stacks of things that needed signing.

None of that was ever as simple as he'd imagined either, he thought, a trifle bitterly. Most days, leading New Yevon felt like herding a flock of sandwiches, and about as useful.

----

"Headache again?"

Baralai barely nodded, one hand pressed to his forehead as if that might relieve the pounding. Isaaru closed the door quietly behind him, setting the tray he carried down on the desk carefully. "Did Rikku tell you what she wanted to talk to me about?"

"No," Isaaru said, well aware that he was bad at lying. Baralai huffed out a breath.

"She did."

"She was... most persistent."

"I bet," Baralai said, wryly. He rubbed at his temples again, leaning back in his seat. "I wish I had some idea about _why_ she'd do that. From everything I heard, she actually wanted to... you know, be with Gippal. And he certainly seemed fond of her. He spoke about her often, when we were in the Crimson Squad together. Perhaps it was all just a prank. Though how could she know... why would she think...?"

Isaaru tried not to react. He passed Baralai one of the plates from the tray. Baralai didn't seem to notice.

"If I didn't think it'd be embarrassing, I'd go to Djose and try to figure it all out. Whether Gippal actually... or why Rikku said he does, at least. But..." He shook his head. "I can't do that, not now. It'll just be awkward."

"Going to Djose would be a direct way of solving the problem," Isaaru said, quietly. He felt rather as if he were Rikku's co-conspirator in this, as she'd asked -- though he reassured himself that he was only talking _sense_. "You could speak to her. Or simply speak straight to Gippal."

"I couldn't... There's so much work I need to be doing."

"It obviously bothers you. I don't see why you should spend all your time here. You need some personal time, too."

Baralai rolled his eyes. "Maybe when things are more settled."

"You've barely worked since Rikku's visit, and that was hours ago. You haven't taken any notice of the food I brought. I can handle things here for a day or two, you know. I was the one who helped calm things down after Vegnagun, after all."

"Don't think I'm undervaluing you, but I -- "

"I'm sure we could find some way to get you there and back quickly," Isaaru said, quickly. "Perhaps the Celsius, or the other airship they recently restored. Or perhaps a chocobo..."

"I can't stand chocobos," Baralai said, with a slightly bemused smile. "Isaaru -- "

"I'll see what I can do to arrange other transport, then," Isaaru said. He stood, quickly, not allowing Baralai to object. It was, he thought, Rikku's tactic. He bowed slightly to Baralai and then hurried to the door while he was still trying to find words.

"Why does that keep happening today?" Baralai complained, as the door closed behind Isaaru before he'd had a chance to speak.

----

"Why would I have to go and see something up on deck? If there's something to fix, it's in the engine room, right?"

"Will you quit being annoying and just go up on deck already?" Rikku made a face at him, shoving him into the lift. Brother hovered somewhere behind her, and when she elbowed him, he nodded, grudgingly.

"Go up on deck. Something you should see."

"See? Even Brother says so!" Rikku said, brightly. She gave Gippal one more shove, pushing him into the back of the lift and then jumping out. She opened a panel in the wall, reaching in amongst some wiring and wincing as something sparked. "Ow! Right. There you go!"

The doors closed and Gippal found himself opening his mouth to protest a moment too late. Without any input from him, the lift lurched in an unsettling way, and then set off. Resigned, he leaned against the back wall, wondering what the hell _was_ going on. It sure wasn't anything to do with machina.

When the doors swished open, he spent a moment pushing buttons to see if he could do anything. Finally, he stepped out, looking for some kind of panel like the one in the hallway below. The doors briskly closed behind him, and he heard the unmistakable sound of the lift moving back down to where it came from. "Damn it, Rikku, what're you playing at?" Gippal muttered to himself.

"I was hoping you'd know something about that," someone said, just behind him. Gippal swung round to see Baralai there, smiling ruefully. "I was coming to Djose to speak to you, but it looks as if Rikku wouldn't wait."

"What...?"

Baralai shrugged slightly. There was an awkwardness in the way he spoke, in the way his eyes flickered briefly, searchingly, over Gippal's face. "She came to Bevelle yesterday, and conspired with Isaaru to get an audience with me. She said that..."

"Oh," Gippal said, before he could help himself. "Right."

"So you _did_ know she was going to come to see me?"

"Yes, but... that's not to say I wanted her to." Gippal huffed softly, running his fingers through his hair. "The deck isn't the most comfortable place to have this discussion, y'know."

Baralai smiled, just a little. "Originally, Isaaru intended it to be the engine room, I believe. Rikku said that was a bad idea because you'd have a love affair with the machina instead."

Gippal snorted softly. "Might've been a less awkward one. Well..." He leaned back against the lift doors, crossing his arms. "She got this idea that I was moping because I want to be with you, and she decided to run off to Bevelle and tell you, regardless of whether I had any better ideas about confessing it to you. I'm sorry."

"Does that mean -- "

"It means that I _do_ have feelings for you, even if definitions differ about whether I was moping or not."

Baralai stood silently for a moment. Gippal watched him carefully: he prided himself on not missing much for a guy with only one eye, after all. There'd been hope on Baralai's face, or something like it, when he'd started to ask, replacing the feigned amusement of the moment before... and now he thought there was indecision. There'd been a time, though, when Baralai was easier to read. A time Gippal had to admit he missed. When they weren't world savers or world leaders, but two ordinary guys, and more had felt -- well, _possible_. Now it seemed like something unrealistic, something they couldn't quite reach.

Not that Gippal'd have any scruples about it, but he could just _see_ Baralai being the type to give his life over to work.

He cleared his throat. "I'll give you a hint," he said, with a quick grin. "If you like the idea, you kiss me. If you hate it, throw yourself off the deck. If it's not workable or you don't like me in that way, just say so."

The corner of Baralai's mouth twitched. He took a careful step forward. "If I hated the idea, I wouldn't have allowed Isaaru to bully me into this trip."

"So are you going to kiss me, or tell me it's not going to work?"

"I..." Baralai hesitated for another moment, then stepped quickly forward, tangling his fingers in Gippal's hair awkwardly, tilting his head. Gippal felt like he couldn't quite breathe properly as he shifted his weight, moved forward, closed the distance. It was a success, as first kisses went, or he thought so at least -- though Baralai seemed to think they should have another go or two before they could be quite sure.

Gippal couldn't argue with that.

When Baralai finally tried to pull away, he stopped him. "Just for the record, I don't want a word about how we still have responsibilities. There are such things as holidays, and official visits, and -- just no excuses yet, okay?"

"No excuses," Baralai agreed. He moved closer again. "I wasn't planning on making any, though."

"Oh. Good."

Baralai kissed him again. Gippal was very reluctant to stop him from doing that, even when he heard the lift moving. Even when he heard Isaaru's shocked 'oh my' and Rikku's squeal of glee.

"Do not say I told you so, Rikku," he said, against Baralai's mouth, and then kissed him again.

Wisely, she said nothing at all. At least not while they were on the deck of an airship that happened to be quite high up in the air.

----

"This seems... somewhat familiar," Isaaru remarked, stepping out of the lift. Rikku jumped to her feet.

"The minute I see that big blond git, I'm going to -- I'm going to -- "

"Do something drastic?"

"Yeah, something like that." She flung herself back down onto the deck again. "After all we've done for him."

Isaaru bit back a smile, moving to sit beside her on the deck. "Actually, I believe it was Baralai's idea." 


End file.
